February 2012

INONA (SE): The head of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, Archbishop Bernard Fellay, said in his address for Candlemas on February 2 that his society will remain at odds with the Vatican if it keeps insisting that it bow to the authority of Vatican II.

He described the ongoing discussions of attempted reconciliation between his society and the Vatican as going nowhere on almost every level.

Whether we have believed in it or not, poverty relief in our society has operated out of a model based on a combination of effort between governments and philanthropists funding service providers to make a better world.

However, the experience of Hong Kong is one graphic example of why, if we ever had a belief in such a system, we should officially give it up, as over the decades we have witnessed a deteriorating...

VATICAN (CWNews.com): The Vatican was hit with a double blow in late January with allegations of financial corruption in the governance of the city-state and an accusation that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints had invested €1.6 million ($15.55 million) in what is known as a Ponzi scheme, a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns from investors’ money, or money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from actual gains....

Hong Kong (UCAN): Five priests of the unofficial community in Suiyuan diocese, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, were taken away by police on January 30, Church reports say. They were arrested in Erenhot, near the border with Mongolia.

Reports say that the priests, who are not affiliated with the government Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, were Father Joseph Gao, the diocesan administrator, Father...

GUANGZHOU (SE): German chancellor, Angela Merkel, had a dogged time during her brief visit to the southern city of Guangzhou in China, with a total media blackout enforced by Chinese security on her meeting with Bishop Gan Junqiu on February 4.

However, Bishop Gan spoke with UCA News about their 30-minute chat. “Merkel asked me about the basic condition of the Guangzhou diocese and the Church in Guangdong...

Hong Kong (UCAN): A new study, conducted by the Diocesan Building and Development Commission, has shown that the Catholic population of Hong Kong has grown in recent years, but the ratio of priests to lay people has diminished.

The study compiled data from the Hong Kong Catholic Church Directory from its beginnings in 1954 through to 2010.

Hong Kong (UCAN): As Chinese New Year celebrations drew to a close, the Hong Kong Central Council of Catholic Laity called on people to think green and reuse the environmentally friendly red Laisee envelopes it had printed.

Laisee (hongbao in Putonghua) is a monetary gift placed in a small red envelope given to people, especially children, during the 15-day new year celebrations or on other special occasions...

HONG KONG (SE): “It is a chance to thank our benefactors,” the director of Caritas Hong Kong, Father Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, said at a tea reception to mark the beginning of spring in the Caritas Community Hall, Central, on February 3.

And if spring is a sign of new life, the 250 guests were treated to live-show of budding new life and talent as students from the Caritas Nursery School in Ta Kwu Ling...